Dynamic video exclusion zones for privacy

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for preserving privacy in surveillance. The methods, systems, and apparatus include actions of determining a state of a monitoring system, determining an exclusion zone that is shown in a video, determining whether to obfuscate at least a portion of the video based on the exclusion zone and the state of the monitoring system, and obfuscating at least the portion of the video.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/905,062, filed Jun. 18, 2020, now allowed, which claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/865,549, filed Jun. 24, 2019.Both of these prior application are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure application relates generally to monitoring systems, andmore particularly, to privacy in monitoring systems.

BACKGROUND

A monitoring system for a property can include various componentsincluding sensors, cameras, and other devices. The monitoring system canbe used to perform surveillance in the property.

SUMMARY

Techniques are described for preserving privacy in surveillance.

Video systems can be a powerful tool for security, robotics andautomation, care monitoring, health analytics, and many otherapplications. However, as the number of cameras in the home or businessgrows, it becomes difficult to ensure the privacy of users, or to knowwhen and where one might be observed by a camera.

This problem may be addressed by having a system where dynamic exclusionzones may be defined. A dynamic exclusion zone may be an exclusion zonethat may be activated and deactivated based on one or more of a state ofa security system, user preferences, context, or general expectations.For example, a dynamic exclusion zone may be defined for a bedroom thatspecifies that an exclusion zone should be activated when the securitysystem is unarmed and should be de-activated when the security system isarmed.

An exclusion zone may be thought of as virtual privacy screens orvolumes, behind or within which, objects, persons, and scenes would beobscured or occluded within video. For example, an activated exclusionzone for a bedroom may cause a portion of video that shows anything inthe bedroom to be replaced with black pixels. In another example, anactivated exclusion zone for a bedroom may cause a portion of video thatshows humans in the bedroom to be replaced with black pixels. In yetanother example, a de-activated exclusion zone may cause a video from acamera to be stored and shown without modification.

A system that provides dynamic exclusion zones may provide benefits inkeeping private areas private and create a better user experience.Additionally, providing such privacy features enables cameras and othersensors to be used for important tasks (such as fall monitoring) inareas where the cameras otherwise would not be placed (in a bedroom orbathroom).

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in a method for preserving privacy insurveillance, the method include the actions of determining a state of amonitoring system, determining an exclusion zone that is shown in avideo, determining whether to obfuscate at least a portion of the videobased on the exclusion zone and the state of the monitoring system, andobfuscating at least the portion of the video.

Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding circuitry,computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one ormore computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions ofthe methods. A system of one or more computers can be configured toperform particular operations or actions by virtue of having software,firmware, hardware, or a combination of them installed on the systemthat in operation causes or cause the system to perform the actions. Oneor more computer programs can be configured to perform particularoperations or actions by virtue of including instructions that, whenexecuted by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to performthe actions.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. In some aspects, determining an exclusion zonethat is shown in a video includes receiving, from an exclusion zonedefinition database, an exclusion zone definition that specifies theexclusion zone and determining, based on the exclusion zone definition,that the video shows the exclusion zone. In certain aspects, theexclusion zone definition specifies that a particular room is to beobfuscated when the monitoring system is in a particular state and notobfuscated when the monitoring system is not in the particular state. Insome implementations, the particular room includes a bathroom and theparticular state includes unarmed.

In some aspects, the exclusion zone definition specifies that in aliving room, humans are always to be obfuscated, and when the state ofthe monitoring system is unarmed, an entirety of the living room is tobe obfuscated. In certain aspects, determining whether to obfuscate atleast a portion of the video based on the exclusion zone and the stateof the monitoring system includes determining that the exclusion zone isto be obfuscated when the monitoring system is in a particular state andthat the state of the monitoring system is in the particular state andin response to determining that the exclusion zone is to be obfuscatedwhen the monitoring system is in the particular state and that the stateof the monitoring system is in the particular state, determining toobfuscate the exclusion zone in the video.

In some implementations, determining a state of a monitoring systemincludes receiving, from a control unit of the monitoring system and byan obfuscation engine, an indication that the monitoring system isunarmed. In certain aspects, obfuscating at least the portion of thevideo includes replacing pixels in the video that correspond to theexclusion zone with black pixels. In some aspects, obfuscating at leastthe portion of the video includes storing the video labeled withmetadata that specifies which portions of the video should be obscuredfor which types of users when the video is played.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented invarious embodiments and may result in one or more of the followingadvantages. In some implementations, privacy may be provided withsurveillance. For example, video may be captured and stored of an areawhile still providing privacy for people in the area. In someimplementations, an amount of user interactions with a surveillancesystem may be reduced. For example, instead of a user manually disablingsurveillance when they want privacy, e.g., when the user gets home, andthen manually re-enabling surveillance, e.g., when the user leaves home,the user may define a dynamic exclusion zone that is then used toautomatically and dynamically obfuscate video. In some implementations,a size of video stored may be reduced. For example, portions of videothat are obfuscated may appear all black which may be represented withless data than what was originally captured in the portions of video.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matterdescribed in this specification are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other potential features, aspects,and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from thedescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example system for preserving privacy insurveillance.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example process for preserving privacy insurveillance.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a home monitoring system.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example system 100 for preserving privacy insurveillance. The system 100 includes a camera 110, a control unit 120,an exclusion zone definition database 130, an obfuscation engine 140,and a video database 150.

The camera 110 can include a video camera, a digital camera, or anyother optical instrument for recording and capturing images. Forexample, the camera 110 may be positioned inside a bedroom and have aview of the bedroom. The camera 110 may be a fixed still or videocamera, a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, a handheld or body worn camera, ora camera affixed to a robotic device which can move around a property.Such a moving camera may use an existing map or model of the property torecognize exclusion zones within the camera view by evaluating thepredicted projection of the camera onto the map or model or by matchingthe captured imagery to the map, model, or specific objects or featureswithin the area.

The camera 110 may capture video and provide the video to theobfuscation engine 140. For example, the camera 110 may provide video ofintruders in the bedroom to the obfuscation engine 140. In anotherexample, the camera 110 may provide video of residents in the bedroom tothe obfuscation engine 140.

The control unit 120 may be a control unit of a security system and mayprovide security system data to the obfuscation engine 140. For example,the control unit 120 may be a security panel of a security system andmay provide data to the obfuscation engine 140 of “State=System Unarmed”while the security system is unarmed. In another example, the controlunit 120 may provide data to the obfuscation engine 140 of “State=SystemArmed” while the security system is armed.

Other security system data that the control unit 120 may provideincludes one or more of alarm state, state of various sensors, userdirection (such as calling for help or pressing a panic button),presence of certain users, known or unknown, based on video recognition,or presence of another signal such as a wireless device, voice or otheraudio cue, etc., or the number of people present in the scene, or thepresence of people vs. animals (may want to see what the dog is doing inthe bathroom, but not what any person is).

The exclusion zone definitions database 130 may store exclusion zonedefinitions. For example, the database 130 may store a first exclusionzone definition for a bedroom, a second exclusion zone definition for abathroom, and a third exclusion zone definition for a living room. Theexclusion zone definitions may specify where within a property theexclusion zones apply and also when the exclusion zone should beactivated. For example, the first exclusion zone definition for thebedroom may specify that the exclusion zone be only activated while asecurity system of the property is unarmed. In another example, thesecond exclusion zone definition for the bathroom may specify that thesecond exclusion zone may be activated while the system is unarmed andalways activated for humans so that humans are always obscured. In yetanother example, the third exclusion zone definition for the living roommay specify that the third exclusion zone may be only activated whilethe system is unarmed for humans that are naked.

The exclusion zone definitions may be manually created or inferred basedon context. The system 100 may learn which areas to apply exclusionzones for by observing where people appear in states of undressregularly. Being undressed may imply that a person considers that areamore private, even if they are fully clothed later. Additionally oralternatively, the system 100 could learn to recognize common privateareas by analyzing areas across properties where other users defineexclusion zones. For example, the system 100 may learn that bedrooms,bathrooms, and the hallway between them are typically defined asexclusion zones, and suggest this as a default for new user. In someimplementations, the system 100 may similarly learn when the exclusionzones should be applied. For example, the system 100 may generate theexclusion zones based on learning a schedule of on during working hoursand off at night.

In the case of the exclusion zone definition being manually created, thesystem 100 may enable a user to use a device, e.g., a computer, asmartphone, or a laptop, to define where an exclusion zone should belocated and when the exclusion zone should be active. For example, auser may have previously accessed a security system portal on theircomputer to define the exclusion zone definition for the living room.

The obfuscation engine 140 may receive the video from the camera 110,the security system data from the control unit 120, and the definitionsfrom the exclusion zone definitions database 130 and then obfuscate thevideo. For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may receive the video ofthe bedroom from the camera 110, receive security system data thatindicates that the security system is un-armed, and receive an exclusionzone definition that specifies to obfuscate everything in the bedroomwhile the system is unarmed, and, in response, replace all the pixels inthe video that show the bedroom with black pixels.

In another example, the obfuscation engine 140 may receive video from acamera in a hallway that also shows part of an interior of a bathroom,receive security system data that indicates that the security system isarmed, and receive an exclusion zone definition that specifies toobfuscate all humans in the bathroom and obfuscate the entire interiorof the bathroom while the system is unarmed, and, in response, replaceall the pixels in the video that show a human in the bathroom with blackpixels.

The obfuscation engine 140 may obfuscate the video in a number ofdifferent ways including replacing pixels with black pixels, replacingpixels without blurred pixels, or replacing pixels that show a humanwith an outline of a human.

The obfuscation engine 140 may obfuscate the video based on determiningthe portions of the video that correspond to the location that theexclusion zones apply to. For example, the obfuscation engine 140 maydetermine that a third of the video from a camera shows a bathroom and aremaining part of the video shows a bedroom.

In some implementations, the obfuscation engine 140 may use depth/3Dsensors and/or structure from motion to more accurately apply exclusionzones. For example, a camera may look into a room that has an exclusionzone at the threshold and the exclusion zone definition for the room mayspecify to obscure anything in the room. Accordingly, as a person walksacross the threshold and into the room, the obfuscation engine 140 mayuse 3D information to more accurately determine when a person crossesthe threshold, e.g., when the detected range from the camera to theperson is equal to the range from the camera to the doorway they arewalking through, and thus determine when to begin to obscure the pixelswhich represent the person in the video/imagery.

The obfuscation engine 140 may then store the obfuscated video in thevideo database 150. For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may storethe video with pixels of a human replaced with black pixels in the videodatabase 150. Alternatively, the obfuscation engine 140 may allowrecovery of some or all of the video in the exclusion zones, possiblyfor evidential purposes.

This might be accomplished by encrypting portions of each video frame,making them unreadable without a key. Various levels of resolution mightbe encoded (and protected with encryption), allowing a viewer to unlocka blurred or pixelated version of the video within the zones, but notthe full resolution version. Metadata describing the exclusion zonescould be used to dynamically obscure the exclusion zones depending onvarious factors. Metadata used to describe the exclusion zone couldinclude abstracted information about the activity in the zone, such as abasic count of people in the zone, or basic status of those people(sitting, standing, motionless on the ground).

In some implementations, the obfuscation engine 140 may show allportions of images without obfuscation if a security event, e.g., anintruder detection, is detected near the time the images are captured orif a person viewing the images has privileges to view images that arenot obfuscated, e.g., is the property owner.

In some implementations, the obfuscation engine 140 may grant viewers ofvideo varying levels of privilege to view video. Some implementationsmay enable different exclusion zones for different viewers, or differentrendering styles or levels of obfuscation depending on the viewer.Certain implementations might allow viewers to escalated privileges inexceptional situations. For example, a user may check in on theirparent's video feed to find that they are inside an exclusion zone andnot answering requests for an audio call. In another example, the system100 may provide analytics that indicate the parents are lying on thefloor and this information is overlaid in the exclusion zone of thevideo because the user has been granted that permission by their parent.The user may then notify a central station and grant permission based ona pre-arrangement between the monitoring company, the parent, and theuser, to view the unobscured video, confirm that they are lying on theground, and dispatch emergency medical personnel.

In some implementations, the system 100 may retroactively apply anexclusion to video that has previously been captured, based onrecognizing a person it did not immediately recognize, recognizing anemerging activity, a change in arm state, cancelling alarm, or otherchange. The system 100 may reach back into archives and edit the videoor the metadata dictating the playback of the video to apply theexclusion zones. In cases where the video may be viewed immediately andthis sort of retroactive exclusion proves common, the system 100 mayinject delay into the live playback in order to ensure the exclusionzone might be applied before the video is viewed.

In some implementations, the system 100 may apply exclusion zoneswithout the knowledge of the viewer. The system 100 may use backgroundreplacement to erase people or other objects in the exclusion zones fromthe video rather than obscuring them or the area.

In some implementations, the obfuscation engine 140 may instead beincorporated into the camera 110. For example, the camera 110 may alterthe pixels which map to areas inside the exclusion zones and store videofor only the pixels that map to areas outside the exclusion zones(essentially permanent exclusion of those areas inside the exclusionzone). Accordingly, the pixels that correspond to exclusion zones maynever be transferred outside the camera 110.

In this implementations, exclusion zones may be communicated to camerasas the cameras are introduced to the site, whether the camera are newinstalls or those belonging to guests or visitors allowed access to thesite. For instance, a visitor might enter the home in order to perform aservice, and wear or carry a camera to document the visit for thehomeowner or supervisor. As part of gaining entry, the exclusion zonerules would be communicated to the camera and the camera would accept acontract to honor them. This contract might include dynamic rules orobjects and activities not to capture in addition to the zones.

In some implementations, existing video, such as that captured by theabove “visiting” camera can be reviewed during streaming orpost-recording to verify that exclusion zones have been enforced, or toapply the exclusion zones as necessary. In some implementations, thesystem 100 may also send notifications to alert that a visiting camerawas pointed at an exclusion zone for a certain amount of time. Forexample, the obfuscation engine 140 may review video captured by avisiting camera, determine that the video showed thirty seconds of abedroom that had an exclusion zone applied, and provide a notificationto a device of a user that a visiting camera showed thirty seconds of abedroom that had an exclusion zone applied.

In some implementations, the data being obfuscated need not be limitedto video data. Infrared (IR) data, depth sensor data, and audio data mayall contain content that users may not want recorded or shared. Thesystem 100 may treat IR or depth sensors (or any other sensor systemproducing understandable 3D data) similarly to imagery sensors so thatdata within the location specified would be removed or obfuscated. Forexample, the system 100 may localize audio to certain rooms based oninput from multiple devices or devices with multiple microphones, andthe obfuscation engine 140 may then obfuscate audio that can fromprivate rooms as specified by the exclusion zone definitions and notaudio that came from other rooms. Audio could also be filtered based oncertain voices or sounds. For example, the system 100 may record barkingdogs, gunshots, and breaking glass, but not conversations betweenfamiliar voices.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 200 forpreserving privacy. The process 200 can be performed by the system 100shown in FIG. 1 or another system. For example, operations of theprocess 400 can be performed by the obfuscation engine 140. In anotherexample, operations of the process 400 can be performed by the camera110 where the camera 110 itself performs obfuscation.

The process 200 includes determining a state of a monitoring system(210). For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may determine that themonitoring system is either armed or unarmed. In some implementations,determining a state of a monitoring system includes receiving, from acontrol unit of the monitoring system and by an obfuscation engine, anindication that the monitoring system is unarmed. For example, theobfuscation engine 140 may receive an indication from the control unit120 that the system is armed. In another example, the obfuscation engine140 may receive an indication from the control unit 120 that the systemis unarmed.

The process 200 includes determining an exclusion zone that is shown ina video (220). For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may determinethat an exclusion zone is shown in video captured by a camera with aview of a bathroom. In another example, the obfuscation engine 140 maydetermine that an exclusion zone is not shown in video captured of afront door of a home.

In some implementations, determining an exclusion zone that is shown ina video includes receiving, from an exclusion zone definition database,an exclusion zone definition that specifies the exclusion zone anddetermining, based on the exclusion zone definition, that the videoshows the exclusion zone. For example, the obfuscation engine 140 mayreceive an exclusion zone definition from the exclusion zone definitiondatabase 130 that specifies that humans should always be obfuscated inthe video of a bathroom and the entire bathroom should be obfuscatedwhen the system is unarmed, determine from the video that the bathroomis shown in the video and, in response, determine that an exclusion zonefor the bathroom is shown in the video. In another example, theexclusion zone definition specifies that in a living room, humans arealways to be obfuscated, and when the state of the monitoring system isunarmed, an entirety of the living room is to be obfuscated.

The process 200 includes determining whether to obfuscate at least aportion of the video based on the exclusion zone and the state of themonitoring system (230). For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may useobject recognition on the pixels in the video to determine that a humanis shown in the bathroom, determine that the system is armed, and, inresponse, determine just to obscure the portion of the video that showsthe human.

In some implementations, determining whether to obfuscate at least aportion of the video based on the exclusion zone and the state of themonitoring system includes determining that the exclusion zone is to beobfuscated when the monitoring system is in a particular state and thatthe state of the monitoring system is in the particular state and, inresponse to determining that the exclusion zone is to be obfuscated whenthe monitoring system is in the particular state and that the state ofthe monitoring system is in the particular state, determining toobfuscate the exclusion zone in the video. For example, the obfuscationengine 140 may determine that an exclusion zone definition specifiesthat an entirety of a living room as shown in video is to be obfuscatedwhen the system is unarmed and that the monitoring system is in anunarmed state and, in response, determine to obfuscate the entirety ofthe living room in the video while leaving unobfuscated the remainingportions of the video that do not show the living room.

The process 200 includes obfuscating at least a portion of the video(240). For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may obfuscate a portionof the video that shows a living room. In some implementations,obfuscating at least the portion of the video includes replacing pixelsin the video that correspond to the exclusion zone with black pixels.For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may replace the portions of thehuman in the video while the human is in the bathroom with black pixelsand then stored the modified video in the video database 150.

In some implementations, obfuscating at least the portion of the videoincludes storing the video labeled with metadata that specifies whichportions of the video should be obscured for which types of users whenthe video is played. For example, the obfuscation engine 140 may storethe unmodified video in the database 150 labeled with metadata thatspecifies which portions of the video should be obscured for which typesof users when the video is played.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a home monitoring system300. The monitoring system 300 includes a network 305, a control unit310, one or more user devices 340 and 350, a monitoring server 360, anda central alarm station server 370. In some examples, the network 305facilitates communications between the control unit 310, the one or moreuser devices 340 and 350, the monitoring server 360, and the centralalarm station server 370.

The network 305 is configured to enable exchange of electroniccommunications between devices connected to the network 305. Forexample, the network 305 may be configured to enable exchange ofelectronic communications between the control unit 310, the one or moreuser devices 340 and 350, the monitoring server 360, and the centralalarm station server 370. The network 305 may include, for example, oneor more of the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks(LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks (e.g., apublic switched telephone network (PSTN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), a cellular network, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)),radio, television, cable, satellite, or any other delivery or tunnelingmechanism for carrying data. Network 305 may include multiple networksor subnetworks, each of which may include, for example, a wired orwireless data pathway. The network 305 may include a circuit-switchednetwork, a packet-switched data network, or any other network able tocarry electronic communications (e.g., data or voice communications).For example, the network 305 may include networks based on the Internetprotocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), the PSTN,packet-switched networks based on IP, X.25, or Frame Relay, or othercomparable technologies and may support voice using, for example, VoIP,or other comparable protocols used for voice communications. The network305 may include one or more networks that include wireless data channelsand wireless voice channels. The network 305 may be a wireless network,a broadband network, or a combination of networks including a wirelessnetwork and a broadband network.

The control unit 310 includes a controller 312 and a network module 314.The controller 312 is configured to control a control unit monitoringsystem (e.g., a control unit system) that includes the control unit 310.In some examples, the controller 312 may include a processor or othercontrol circuitry configured to execute instructions of a program thatcontrols operation of a control unit system. In these examples, thecontroller 312 may be configured to receive input from sensors, flowmeters, or other devices included in the control unit system and controloperations of devices included in the household (e.g., speakers, lights,doors, etc.). For example, the controller 312 may be configured tocontrol operation of the network module 314 included in the control unit310.

The network module 314 is a communication device configured to exchangecommunications over the network 305. The network module 314 may be awireless communication module configured to exchange wirelesscommunications over the network 305. For example, the network module 314may be a wireless communication device configured to exchangecommunications over a wireless data channel and a wireless voicechannel. In this example, the network module 314 may transmit alarm dataover a wireless data channel and establish a two-way voice communicationsession over a wireless voice channel. The wireless communication devicemay include one or more of a LTE module, a GSM module, a radio modem,cellular transmission module, or any type of module configured toexchange communications in one of the following formats: LTE, GSM orGPRS, CDMA, EDGE or EGPRS, EV-DO or EVDO, UMTS, or IP.

The network module 314 also may be a wired communication moduleconfigured to exchange communications over the network 305 using a wiredconnection. For instance, the network module 314 may be a modem, anetwork interface card, or another type of network interface device. Thenetwork module 314 may be an Ethernet network card configured to enablethe control unit 310 to communicate over a local area network and/or theInternet. The network module 314 also may be a voice band modemconfigured to enable the alarm panel to communicate over the telephonelines of Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS).

The control unit system that includes the control unit 310 includes oneor more sensors. For example, the monitoring system may include multiplesensors 320. The sensors 320 may include a lock sensor, a contactsensor, a motion sensor, or any other type of sensor included in acontrol unit system. The sensors 320 also may include an environmentalsensor, such as a temperature sensor, a water sensor, a rain sensor, awind sensor, a light sensor, a smoke detector, a carbon monoxidedetector, an air quality sensor, etc. The sensors 320 further mayinclude a health monitoring sensor, such as a prescription bottle sensorthat monitors taking of prescriptions, a blood pressure sensor, a bloodsugar sensor, a bed mat configured to sense presence of liquid (e.g.,bodily fluids) on the bed mat, etc. In some examples, thehealth-monitoring sensor can be a wearable sensor that attaches to auser in the home. The health-monitoring sensor can collect varioushealth data, including pulse, heart rate, respiration rate, sugar orglucose level, bodily temperature, or motion data.

The sensors 320 can also include a radio-frequency identification (RFID)sensor that identifies a particular article that includes a pre-assignedRFID tag.

The control unit 310 communicates with the home automation controls 322and a camera 330 to perform monitoring. The home automation controls 322are connected to one or more devices that enable automation of actionsin the home. For instance, the home automation controls 322 may beconnected to one or more lighting systems and may be configured tocontrol operation of the one or more lighting systems. In addition, thehome automation controls 322 may be connected to one or more electroniclocks at the home and may be configured to control operation of the oneor more electronic locks (e.g., control Z-Wave locks using wirelesscommunications in the Z-Wave protocol). Further, the home automationcontrols 322 may be connected to one or more appliances at the home andmay be configured to control operation of the one or more appliances.The home automation controls 322 may include multiple modules that areeach specific to the type of device being controlled in an automatedmanner. The home automation controls 322 may control the one or moredevices based on commands received from the control unit 310. Forinstance, the home automation controls 322 may cause a lighting systemto illuminate an area to provide a better image of the area whencaptured by a camera 330.

The camera 330 may be a video/photographic camera or other type ofoptical sensing device configured to capture images. For instance, thecamera 330 may be configured to capture images of an area within abuilding or home monitored by the control unit 310. The camera 330 maybe configured to capture single, static images of the area and alsovideo images of the area in which multiple images of the area arecaptured at a relatively high frequency (e.g., thirty images persecond). The camera 330 may be controlled based on commands receivedfrom the control unit 310.

The camera 330 may be triggered by several different types oftechniques. For instance, a Passive Infra-Red (PIR) motion sensor may bebuilt into the camera 330 and used to trigger the camera 330 to captureone or more images when motion is detected. The camera 330 also mayinclude a microwave motion sensor built into the camera and used totrigger the camera 330 to capture one or more images when motion isdetected. The camera 330 may have a “normally open” or “normally closed”digital input that can trigger capture of one or more images whenexternal sensors (e.g., the sensors 320, PIR, door/window, etc.) detectmotion or other events. In some implementations, the camera 330 receivesa command to capture an image when external devices detect motion oranother potential alarm event. The camera 330 may receive the commandfrom the controller 312 or directly from one of the sensors 320.

In some examples, the camera 330 triggers integrated or externalilluminators (e.g., Infra-Red, Z-wave controlled “white” lights, lightscontrolled by the home automation controls 322, etc.) to improve imagequality when the scene is dark. An integrated or separate light sensormay be used to determine if illumination is desired and may result inincreased image quality.

The camera 330 may be programmed with any combination of time/dayschedules, system “arming state”, or other variables to determinewhether images should be captured or not when triggers occur. The camera330 may enter a low-power mode when not capturing images. In this case,the camera 330 may wake periodically to check for inbound messages fromthe controller 312. The camera 330 may be powered by internal,replaceable batteries if located remotely from the control unit 310. Thecamera 330 may employ a small solar cell to recharge the battery whenlight is available. Alternatively, the camera 330 may be powered by thecontroller's 312 power supply if the camera 330 is co-located with thecontroller 312.

In some implementations, the camera 330 communicates directly with themonitoring server 360 over the Internet. In these implementations, imagedata captured by the camera 330 does not pass through the control unit310 and the camera 330 receives commands related to operation from themonitoring server 360.

The system 300 also includes thermostat 334 to perform dynamicenvironmental control at the home. The thermostat 334 is configured tomonitor temperature and/or energy consumption of an HVAC systemassociated with the thermostat 334, and is further configured to providecontrol of environmental (e.g., temperature) settings. In someimplementations, the thermostat 334 can additionally or alternativelyreceive data relating to activity at a home and/or environmental data ata home, e.g., at various locations indoors and outdoors at the home. Thethermostat 334 can directly measure energy consumption of the HVACsystem associated with the thermostat, or can estimate energyconsumption of the HVAC system associated with the thermostat 334, forexample, based on detected usage of one or more components of the HVACsystem associated with the thermostat 334. The thermostat 334 cancommunicate temperature and/or energy monitoring information to or fromthe control unit 310 and can control the environmental (e.g.,temperature) settings based on commands received from the control unit310.

In some implementations, the thermostat 334 is a dynamicallyprogrammable thermostat and can be integrated with the control unit 310.For example, the dynamically programmable thermostat 334 can include thecontrol unit 310, e.g., as an internal component to the dynamicallyprogrammable thermostat 334. In addition, the control unit 310 can be agateway device that communicates with the dynamically programmablethermostat 334. In some implementations, the thermostat 334 iscontrolled via one or more home automation controls 322.

A module 337 is connected to one or more components of an HVAC systemassociated with a home, and is configured to control operation of theone or more components of the HVAC system. In some implementations, themodule 337 is also configured to monitor energy consumption of the HVACsystem components, for example, by directly measuring the energyconsumption of the HVAC system components or by estimating the energyusage of the one or more HVAC system components based on detecting usageof components of the HVAC system. The module 337 can communicate energymonitoring information and the state of the HVAC system components tothe thermostat 334 and can control the one or more components of theHVAC system based on commands received from the thermostat 334.

In some examples, the system 300 further includes one or more roboticdevices 390. The robotic devices 390 may be any type of robots that arecapable of moving and taking actions that assist in home monitoring. Forexample, the robotic devices 390 may include drones that are capable ofmoving throughout a home based on automated control technology and/oruser input control provided by a user. In this example, the drones maybe able to fly, roll, walk, or otherwise move about the home. The dronesmay include helicopter type devices (e.g., quad copters), rollinghelicopter type devices (e.g., roller copter devices that can fly androll along the ground, walls, or ceiling) and land vehicle type devices(e.g., automated cars that drive around a home). In some cases, therobotic devices 390 may be devices that are intended for other purposesand merely associated with the system 300 for use in appropriatecircumstances. For instance, a robotic vacuum cleaner device may beassociated with the monitoring system 300 as one of the robotic devices390 and may be controlled to take action responsive to monitoring systemevents.

In some examples, the robotic devices 390 automatically navigate withina home. In these examples, the robotic devices 390 include sensors andcontrol processors that guide movement of the robotic devices 390 withinthe home. For instance, the robotic devices 390 may navigate within thehome using one or more cameras, one or more proximity sensors, one ormore gyroscopes, one or more accelerometers, one or more magnetometers,a global positioning system (GPS) unit, an altimeter, one or more sonaror laser sensors, and/or any other types of sensors that aid innavigation about a space. The robotic devices 390 may include controlprocessors that process output from the various sensors and control therobotic devices 390 to move along a path that reaches the desireddestination and avoids obstacles. In this regard, the control processorsdetect walls or other obstacles in the home and guide movement of therobotic devices 390 in a manner that avoids the walls and otherobstacles.

In addition, the robotic devices 390 may store data that describesattributes of the home. For instance, the robotic devices 390 may storea floorplan and/or a three-dimensional model of the home that enablesthe robotic devices 390 to navigate the home. During initialconfiguration, the robotic devices 390 may receive the data describingattributes of the home, determine a frame of reference to the data(e.g., a home or reference location in the home), and navigate the homebased on the frame of reference and the data describing attributes ofthe home. Further, initial configuration of the robotic devices 390 alsomay include learning of one or more navigation patterns in which a userprovides input to control the robotic devices 390 to perform a specificnavigation action (e.g., fly to an upstairs bedroom and spin aroundwhile capturing video and then return to a home charging base). In thisregard, the robotic devices 390 may learn and store the navigationpatterns such that the robotic devices 390 may automatically repeat thespecific navigation actions upon a later request.

In some examples, the robotic devices 390 may include data capture andrecording devices. In these examples, the robotic devices 390 mayinclude one or more cameras, one or more motion sensors, one or moremicrophones, one or more biometric data collection tools, one or moretemperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, one or more air flowsensors, and/or any other types of sensors that may be useful incapturing monitoring data related to the home and users in the home. Theone or more biometric data collection tools may be configured to collectbiometric samples of a person in the home with or without contact of theperson. For instance, the biometric data collection tools may include afingerprint scanner, a hair sample collection tool, a skin cellcollection tool, and/or any other tool that allows the robotic devices390 to take and store a biometric sample that can be used to identifythe person (e.g., a biometric sample with DNA that can be used for DNAtesting).

In some implementations, the robotic devices 390 may include outputdevices. In these implementations, the robotic devices 390 may includeone or more displays, one or more speakers, and/or any type of outputdevices that allow the robotic devices 390 to communicate information toa nearby user.

The robotic devices 390 also may include a communication module thatenables the robotic devices 390 to communicate with the control unit310, each other, and/or other devices. The communication module may be awireless communication module that allows the robotic devices 390 tocommunicate wirelessly. For instance, the communication module may be aWi-Fi module that enables the robotic devices 390 to communicate over alocal wireless network at the home. The communication module further maybe a 900 MHz wireless communication module that enables the roboticdevices 390 to communicate directly with the control unit 310. Othertypes of short-range wireless communication protocols, such asBluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Z-wave, Zigbee, etc., may be used to allow therobotic devices 390 to communicate with other devices in the home. Insome implementations, the robotic devices 390 may communicate with eachother or with other devices of the system 300 through the network 305.

The robotic devices 390 further may include processor and storagecapabilities. The robotic devices 390 may include any suitableprocessing devices that enable the robotic devices 390 to operateapplications and perform the actions described throughout thisdisclosure. In addition, the robotic devices 390 may include solid-stateelectronic storage that enables the robotic devices 390 to storeapplications, configuration data, collected sensor data, and/or anyother type of information available to the robotic devices 390.

The robotic devices 390 are associated with one or more chargingstations. The charging stations may be located at predefined home baseor reference locations in the home. The robotic devices 390 may beconfigured to navigate to the charging stations after completion oftasks needed to be performed for the monitoring system 300. Forinstance, after completion of a monitoring operation or upon instructionby the control unit 310, the robotic devices 390 may be configured toautomatically fly to and land on one of the charging stations. In thisregard, the robotic devices 390 may automatically maintain a fullycharged battery in a state in which the robotic devices 390 are readyfor use by the monitoring system 300.

The charging stations may be contact based charging stations and/orwireless charging stations. For contact based charging stations, therobotic devices 390 may have readily accessible points of contact thatthe robotic devices 390 are capable of positioning and mating with acorresponding contact on the charging station. For instance, ahelicopter type robotic device may have an electronic contact on aportion of its landing gear that rests on and mates with an electronicpad of a charging station when the helicopter type robotic device landson the charging station. The electronic contact on the robotic devicemay include a cover that opens to expose the electronic contact when therobotic device is charging and closes to cover and insulate theelectronic contact when the robotic device is in operation.

For wireless charging stations, the robotic devices 390 may chargethrough a wireless exchange of power. In these cases, the roboticdevices 390 need only locate themselves closely enough to the wirelesscharging stations for the wireless exchange of power to occur. In thisregard, the positioning needed to land at a predefined home base orreference location in the home may be less precise than with a contactbased charging station. Based on the robotic devices 390 landing at awireless charging station, the wireless charging station outputs awireless signal that the robotic devices 390 receive and convert to apower signal that charges a battery maintained on the robotic devices390.

In some implementations, each of the robotic devices 390 has acorresponding and assigned charging station such that the number ofrobotic devices 390 equals the number of charging stations. In theseimplementations, the robotic devices 390 always navigate to the specificcharging station assigned to that robotic device. For instance, a firstrobotic device may always use a first charging station and a secondrobotic device may always use a second charging station.

In some examples, the robotic devices 390 may share charging stations.For instance, the robotic devices 390 may use one or more communitycharging stations that are capable of charging multiple robotic devices390. The community charging station may be configured to charge multiplerobotic devices 390 in parallel. The community charging station may beconfigured to charge multiple robotic devices 390 in serial such thatthe multiple robotic devices 390 take turns charging and, when fullycharged, return to a predefined home base or reference location in thehome that is not associated with a charger. The number of communitycharging stations may be less than the number of robotic devices 390.

In addition, the charging stations may not be assigned to specificrobotic devices 390 and may be capable of charging any of the roboticdevices 390. In this regard, the robotic devices 390 may use anysuitable, unoccupied charging station when not in use. For instance,when one of the robotic devices 390 has completed an operation or is inneed of battery charge, the control unit 310 references a stored tableof the occupancy status of each charging station and instructs therobotic device to navigate to the nearest charging station that isunoccupied.

The system 300 further includes one or more integrated security devices380. The one or more integrated security devices may include any type ofdevice used to provide alerts based on received sensor data. Forinstance, the one or more control units 310 may provide one or morealerts to the one or more integrated security input/output devices 380.Additionally, the one or more control units 310 may receive one or moresensor data from the sensors 320 and determine whether to provide analert to the one or more integrated security input/output devices 380.

The sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, the camera 330, thethermostat 334, and the integrated security devices 380 may communicatewith the controller 312 over communication links 324, 326, 328, 332,338, and 384. The communication links 324, 326, 328, 332, 338, and 384may be a wired or wireless data pathway configured to transmit signalsfrom the sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, the camera 330,the thermostat 334, and the integrated security devices 380 to thecontroller 312. The sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, thecamera 330, the thermostat 334, and the integrated security devices 380may continuously transmit sensed values to the controller 312,periodically transmit sensed values to the controller 312, or transmitsensed values to the controller 312 in response to a change in a sensedvalue.

The communication links 324, 326, 328, 332, 338, and 384 may include alocal network. The sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, thecamera 330, the thermostat 334, and the integrated security devices 380,and the controller 312 may exchange data and commands over the localnetwork. The local network may include 802.11 “Wi-Fi” wireless Ethernet(e.g., using low-power Wi-Fi chipsets), Z-Wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth,“Homeplug” or other “Powerline” networks that operate over AC wiring,and a Category 5 (CAT5) or Category 6 (CAT6) wired Ethernet network. Thelocal network may be a mesh network constructed based on the devicesconnected to the mesh network.

The monitoring server 360 is an electronic device configured to providemonitoring services by exchanging electronic communications with thecontrol unit 310, the one or more user devices 340 and 350, and thecentral alarm station server 370 over the network 305. For example, themonitoring server 360 may be configured to monitor events generated bythe control unit 310. In this example, the monitoring server 360 mayexchange electronic communications with the network module 314 includedin the control unit 310 to receive information regarding events detectedby the control unit 310. The monitoring server 360 also may receiveinformation regarding events from the one or more user devices 340 and350.

In some examples, the monitoring server 360 may route alert datareceived from the network module 314 or the one or more user devices 340and 350 to the central alarm station server 370. For example, themonitoring server 360 may transmit the alert data to the central alarmstation server 370 over the network 305.

The monitoring server 360 may store sensor and image data received fromthe monitoring system and perform analysis of sensor and image datareceived from the monitoring system. Based on the analysis, themonitoring server 360 may communicate with and control aspects of thecontrol unit 310 or the one or more user devices 340 and 350.

The monitoring server 360 may provide various monitoring services to thesystem 300. For example, the monitoring server 360 may analyze thesensor, image, and other data to determine an activity pattern of aresident of the home monitored by the system 300. In someimplementations, the monitoring server 360 may analyze the data foralarm conditions or may determine and perform actions at the home byissuing commands to one or more of the controls 322, possibly throughthe control unit 310.

The monitoring server 360 can be configured to provide information(e.g., activity patterns) related to one or more residents of the homemonitored by the system 300 (e.g., user 108). For example, one or moreof the sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, the camera 330,the thermostat 334, and the integrated security devices 380 can collectdata related to a resident including location information (e.g., if theresident is home or is not home) and provide location information to thethermostat 334.

The central alarm station server 370 is an electronic device configuredto provide alarm monitoring service by exchanging communications withthe control unit 310, the one or more user devices 340 and 350, and themonitoring server 360 over the network 305. For example, the centralalarm station server 370 may be configured to monitor alerting eventsgenerated by the control unit 310. In this example, the central alarmstation server 370 may exchange communications with the network module314 included in the control unit 310 to receive information regardingalerting events detected by the control unit 310. The central alarmstation server 370 also may receive information regarding alertingevents from the one or more user devices 340 and 350 and/or themonitoring server 360.

The central alarm station server 370 is connected to multiple terminals372 and 374. The terminals 372 and 374 may be used by operators toprocess alerting events. For example, the central alarm station server370 may route alerting data to the terminals 372 and 374 to enable anoperator to process the alerting data. The terminals 372 and 374 mayinclude general-purpose computers (e.g., desktop personal computers,workstations, or laptop computers) that are configured to receivealerting data from a server in the central alarm station server 370 andrender a display of information based on the alerting data. Forinstance, the controller 312 may control the network module 314 totransmit, to the central alarm station server 370, alerting dataindicating that a sensor 320 detected motion from a motion sensor viathe sensors 320. The central alarm station server 370 may receive thealerting data and route the alerting data to the terminal 372 forprocessing by an operator associated with the terminal 372. The terminal372 may render a display to the operator that includes informationassociated with the alerting event (e.g., the lock sensor data, themotion sensor data, the contact sensor data, etc.) and the operator mayhandle the alerting event based on the displayed information.

In some implementations, the terminals 372 and 374 may be mobile devicesor devices designed for a specific function. Although FIG. 3 illustratestwo terminals for brevity, actual implementations may include more (and,perhaps, many more) terminals.

The one or more authorized user devices 340 and 350 are devices thathost and display user interfaces. For instance, the user device 340 is amobile device that hosts or runs one or more native applications (e.g.,the home monitoring application 342). The user device 340 may be acellular phone or a non-cellular locally networked device with adisplay. The user device 340 may include a cell phone, a smart phone, atablet PC, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), or any other portabledevice configured to communicate over a network and display information.For example, implementations may also include Blackberry-type devices(e.g., as provided by Research in Motion), electronic organizers,iPhone-type devices (e.g., as provided by Apple), iPod devices (e.g., asprovided by Apple) or other portable music players, other communicationdevices, and handheld or portable electronic devices for gaming,communications, and/or data organization. The user device 340 mayperform functions unrelated to the monitoring system, such as placingpersonal telephone calls, playing music, playing video, displayingpictures, browsing the Internet, maintaining an electronic calendar,etc.

The user device 340 includes a home monitoring application 352. The homemonitoring application 342 refers to a software/firmware program runningon the corresponding mobile device that enables the user interface andfeatures described throughout. The user device 340 may load or installthe home monitoring application 342 based on data received over anetwork or data received from local media. The home monitoringapplication 342 runs on mobile devices platforms, such as iPhone, iPodtouch, Blackberry, Google Android, Windows Mobile, etc. The homemonitoring application 342 enables the user device 340 to receive andprocess image and sensor data from the monitoring system.

The user device 340 may be a general-purpose computer (e.g., a desktoppersonal computer, a workstation, or a laptop computer) that isconfigured to communicate with the monitoring server 360 and/or thecontrol unit 310 over the network 305. The user device 340 may beconfigured to display a smart home user interface 352 that is generatedby the user device 340 or generated by the monitoring server 360. Forexample, the user device 340 may be configured to display a userinterface (e.g., a web page) provided by the monitoring server 360 thatenables a user to perceive images captured by the camera 330 and/orreports related to the monitoring system. Although FIG. 3 illustratestwo user devices for brevity, actual implementations may include more(and, perhaps, many more) or fewer user devices.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 340 and 350communicate with and receive monitoring system data from the controlunit 310 using the communication link 338. For instance, the one or moreuser devices 340 and 350 may communicate with the control unit 310 usingvarious local wireless protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-wave,Zigbee, HomePlug (ethernet over power line), or wired protocols such asEthernet and USB, to connect the one or more user devices 340 and 350 tolocal security and automation equipment. The one or more user devices340 and 350 may connect locally to the monitoring system and its sensorsand other devices. The local connection may improve the speed of statusand control communications because communicating through the network 305with a remote server (e.g., the monitoring server 360) may besignificantly slower.

Although the one or more user devices 340 and 350 are shown ascommunicating with the control unit 310, the one or more user devices340 and 350 may communicate directly with the sensors and other devicescontrolled by the control unit 310. In some implementations, the one ormore user devices 340 and 350 replace the control unit 310 and performthe functions of the control unit 310 for local monitoring and longrange/offsite communication.

In other implementations, the one or more user devices 340 and 350receive monitoring system data captured by the control unit 310 throughthe network 305. The one or more user devices 340, 350 may receive thedata from the control unit 310 through the network 305 or the monitoringserver 360 may relay data received from the control unit 310 to the oneor more user devices 340 and 350 through the network 305. In thisregard, the monitoring server 360 may facilitate communication betweenthe one or more user devices 340 and 350 and the monitoring system.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 340 and 350 may beconfigured to switch whether the one or more user devices 340 and 350communicate with the control unit 310 directly (e.g., through link 338)or through the monitoring server 360 (e.g., through network 305) basedon a location of the one or more user devices 340 and 350. For instance,when the one or more user devices 340 and 350 are located close to thecontrol unit 310 and in range to communicate directly with the controlunit 310, the one or more user devices 340 and 350 use directcommunication. When the one or more user devices 340 and 350 are locatedfar from the control unit 310 and not in range to communicate directlywith the control unit 310, the one or more user devices 340 and 350 usecommunication through the monitoring server 360.

Although the one or more user devices 340 and 350 are shown as beingconnected to the network 305, in some implementations, the one or moreuser devices 340 and 350 are not connected to the network 305. In theseimplementations, the one or more user devices 340 and 350 communicatedirectly with one or more of the monitoring system components and nonetwork (e.g., Internet) connection or reliance on remote servers isneeded.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 340 and 350 areused in conjunction with only local sensors and/or local devices in ahouse. In these implementations, the system 300 includes the one or moreuser devices 340 and 350, the sensors 320, the home automation controls322, the camera 330, and the robotic devices 390. The one or more userdevices 340 and 350 receive data directly from the sensors 320, the homeautomation controls 322, the camera 330, and the robotic devices 390,and sends data directly to the sensors 320, the home automation controls322, the camera 330, and the robotic devices 390. The one or more userdevices 340, 350 provide the appropriate interfaces/processing toprovide visual surveillance and reporting.

In other implementations, the system 300 further includes network 305and the sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, the camera 330,the thermostat 334, and the robotic devices 390, and are configured tocommunicate sensor and image data to the one or more user devices 340and 350 over network 305 (e.g., the Internet, cellular network, etc.).In yet another implementation, the sensors 320, the home automationcontrols 322, the camera 330, the thermostat 334, and the roboticdevices 390 (or a component, such as a bridge/router) are intelligentenough to change the communication pathway from a direct local pathwaywhen the one or more user devices 340 and 350 are in close physicalproximity to the sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, thecamera 330, the thermostat 334, and the robotic devices 390 to a pathwayover network 305 when the one or more user devices 340 and 350 arefarther from the sensors 320, the home automation controls 322, thecamera 330, the thermostat 334, and the robotic devices 390.

In some examples, the system leverages GPS information from the one ormore user devices 340 and 350 to determine whether the one or more userdevices 340 and 350 are close enough to the sensors 320, the homeautomation controls 322, the camera 330, the thermostat 334, and therobotic devices 390 to use the direct local pathway or whether the oneor more user devices 340 and 350 are far enough from the sensors 320,the home automation controls 322, the camera 330, the thermostat 334,and the robotic devices 390 that the pathway over network 305 isrequired.

In other examples, the system leverages status communications (e.g.,pinging) between the one or more user devices 340 and 350 and thesensors 320, the home automation controls 322, the camera 330, thethermostat 334, and the robotic devices 390 to determine whethercommunication using the direct local pathway is possible. Ifcommunication using the direct local pathway is possible, the one ormore user devices 340 and 350 communicate with the sensors 320, the homeautomation controls 322, the camera 330, the thermostat 334, and therobotic devices 390 using the direct local pathway. If communicationusing the direct local pathway is not possible, the one or more userdevices 340 and 350 communicate with the sensors 320, the homeautomation controls 322, the camera 330, the thermostat 334, and therobotic devices 390 using the pathway over network 305.

In some implementations, the system 300 provides end users with accessto images captured by the camera 330 to aid in decision making. Thesystem 300 may transmit the images captured by the camera 330 over awireless WAN network to the user devices 340 and 350. Becausetransmission over a wireless WAN network may be relatively expensive,the system 300 can use several techniques to reduce costs whileproviding access to significant levels of useful visual information(e.g., compressing data, down-sampling data, sending data only overinexpensive LAN connections, or other techniques).

In some implementations, a state of the monitoring system and otherevents sensed by the monitoring system may be used to enable/disablevideo/image recording devices (e.g., the camera 330). In theseimplementations, the camera 330 may be set to capture images on aperiodic basis when the alarm system is armed in an “away” state, butset not to capture images when the alarm system is armed in a “home”state or disarmed. In addition, the camera 330 may be triggered to begincapturing images when the alarm system detects an event, such as analarm event, a door-opening event for a door that leads to an areawithin a field of view of the camera 330, or motion in the area withinthe field of view of the camera 330. In other implementations, thecamera 330 may capture images continuously, but the captured images maybe stored or transmitted over a network when needed.

The system 300 further includes an obfuscation engine 395 incommunication with the control unit 310 through a communication link397, which similarly to as described above in regards to communicationlinks 324, 326, 328, 332, 338, and 384, may be wired or wireless andinclude a local network. The obfuscation engine 295 may be theobfuscation engine 140, the control unit 310 may be the control unit120, and the camera 330 may be the camera 110. In some implementations,the robotic devices 390 may navigate based on the exclusion zones thatare currently being applied. For example, the robotic devices 390 maydetermine that an exclusion zone is being applied to a bathroom and, inresponse, determine to navigate so that cameras of the robotic devices390 do not point towards the bathroom so that video of the bathroom isnot captured.

The described systems, methods, and techniques may be implemented indigital electronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware, software, orin combinations of these elements. Apparatus implementing thesetechniques may include appropriate input and output devices, a computerprocessor, and a computer program product tangibly embodied in amachine-readable storage device for execution by a programmableprocessor. A process implementing these techniques may be performed by aprogrammable processor executing a program of instructions to performdesired functions by operating on input data and generating appropriateoutput. The techniques may be implemented in one or more computerprograms that are executable on a programmable system including at leastone programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructionsfrom, and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system,at least one input device, and at least one output device.

Each computer program may be implemented in a high-level procedural orobject-oriented programming language, or in assembly or machine languageif desired; and in any case, the language may be a compiled orinterpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way of example,both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, a processorwill receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and/or arandom access memory. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodyingcomputer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatilememory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, suchas Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Anyof the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, speciallydesigned ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

It will be understood that various modifications may be made. Forexample, other useful implementations could be achieved if steps of thedisclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in the disclosed systems were combined in a different mannerand/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:determining an arming state of a monitoring system; determining anexclusion zone that is shown in a video; determining whether toobfuscate at least a portion of the video based on the exclusion zoneand the arming state of the monitoring system, wherein determiningwhether to obfuscate at least the portion of the video based on theexclusion zone and the arming state of the monitoring system includes:determining that humans in the exclusion zone are to be obfuscated whenthe monitoring system is in a particular arming state and that thearming state of the monitoring system is in the particular arming state;and in response to determining that humans in the exclusion zone are tobe obfuscated when the monitoring system is in the particular armingstate and that the arming state of the monitoring system is in theparticular arming state, determining to obfuscate humans in theexclusion zone in the video; and obfuscating at least the portion of thevideo that shows a human in the exclusion zone without obfuscatinganother portion of the video that shows a portion of the exclusion zonewithout any humans.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining anexclusion zone that is shown in a video comprises: receiving, from anexclusion zone definition database, an exclusion zone definition thatspecifies the exclusion zone; and determining, based on the exclusionzone definition, that the video shows the exclusion zone.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the exclusion zone definition specifies that aparticular room is to be obfuscated when the monitoring system is in aparticular state and not obfuscated when the monitoring system is not inthe particular state.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the particularroom comprises a bathroom and the particular state comprises unarmed. 5.The method of claim 2, wherein the exclusion zone definition specifiesthat in a living room, humans are always to be obfuscated, and when thestate of the monitoring system is unarmed, an entirety of the livingroom is to be obfuscated.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein determiningthat humans in the exclusion zone are to be obfuscated when themonitoring system is in a particular arming state and that the armingstate of the monitoring system is in the particular arming statecomprises: determining that the exclusion zone definition specifies thatonly humans are to be obfuscated in the exclusion zone during theparticular arming state.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining astate of a monitoring system comprises: receiving, from a control unitof the monitoring system and by an obfuscation engine, an indicationthat the monitoring system is unarmed.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinobfuscating at least the portion of the video comprises: replacingpixels in the video that correspond to the exclusion zone with blackpixels.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein obfuscating at least theportion of the video comprises: replacing pixels in the video thatcorrespond to the human in the exclusion zone with black pixels.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein obfuscating at least the portion of the videocomprises: storing the video labeled with metadata that specifies whichportions of the video should be obscured for which types of users whenthe video is played.
 11. A system comprising: one or more computers andone or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, whenexecuted by the one or more computers, to cause the one or morecomputers to perform operations comprising: determining an arming stateof a monitoring system; determining an exclusion zone that is shown in avideo; determining whether to obfuscate at least a portion of the videobased on the exclusion zone and the arming state of the monitoringsystem, wherein determining whether to obfuscate at least the portion ofthe video based on the exclusion zone and the arming state of themonitoring system includes: determining that humans in the exclusionzone are to be obfuscated when the monitoring system is in a particulararming state and that the arming state of the monitoring system is inthe particular arming state; and in response to determining that humansin the exclusion zone are to be obfuscated when the monitoring system isin the particular arming state and that the arming state of themonitoring system is in the particular arming state, determining toobfuscate humans in the exclusion zone in the video; and obfuscating atleast the portion of the video that shows a human in the exclusion zonewithout obfuscating another portion of the video that shows a portion ofthe exclusion zone without any humans.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein determining an exclusion zone that is shown in a videocomprises: receiving, from an exclusion zone definition database, anexclusion zone definition that specifies the exclusion zone; anddetermining, based on the exclusion zone definition, that the videoshows the exclusion zone.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein theexclusion zone definition specifies that a particular room is to beobfuscated when the monitoring system is in a particular state and notobfuscated when the monitoring system is not in the particular state.14. The system of claim 13, wherein the particular room comprises abathroom and the particular state comprises unarmed.
 15. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the exclusion zone definition specifies that in aliving room, humans are always to be obfuscated, and when the state ofthe monitoring system is unarmed, an entirety of the living room is tobe obfuscated.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein determining thathumans in the exclusion zone are to be obfuscated when the monitoringsystem is in a particular arming state and that the arming state of themonitoring system is in the particular arming state comprises:determining that the exclusion zone definition specifies that onlyhumans are to be obfuscated in the exclusion zone during the particulararming state.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein determining a state ofa monitoring system comprises: receiving, from a control unit of themonitoring system and by an obfuscation engine, an indication that themonitoring system is unarmed.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing software comprising instructions executable by one ormore computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or morecomputers to perform operations comprising: determining a state of amonitoring system; determining an exclusion zone that is shown in avideo; determining whether to obfuscate at least a portion of the videobased on the exclusion zone and the state of the monitoring system; andobfuscating at least the portion of the video.
 19. The medium of claim18, wherein determining an exclusion zone that is shown in a videocomprises: receiving, from an exclusion zone definition database, anexclusion zone definition that specifies the exclusion zone; anddetermining, based on the exclusion zone definition, that the videoshows the exclusion zone.
 20. The medium of claim 19, whereindetermining that humans in the exclusion zone are to be obfuscated whenthe monitoring system is in a particular arming state and that thearming state of the monitoring system is in the particular arming statecomprises: determining that the exclusion zone definition specifies thatonly humans are to be obfuscated in the exclusion zone during theparticular arming state.